Rethinking participatory practices of professional planners as a response to urban governance in Serbia

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the new directions of democratic practices in urban governance, including public participation and multi-stakeholder involvement in Serbia. Through the reflections of Serbian planning practitioners and planners, the paper frames their historical reality of transitional, post-socialist local context as ‘somewhere in-between’ a complex system of dynamics. Therefore, the requirements of market economy, EU policies, new planning ideas and influences together with the formal participatory procedures and professional idea of the previous, socialist practice come together to this contemporary historical reality. The paper explores, through ethnographic research with professional planners (from 2007 to 2020), the application of participatory methods with the support of international programs that operated in the field of urban governance in Serbia. The research framework combines critical pragmatism and collaborative planning to shed light on daily planning practice characterized by an ongoing transition through dynamics that has shifted to governance, pluralism, and markets. These dynamics have been even more evident when the urban planning challenge during COVID-19 pandemic, have provided practitioners’ insights into ‘what can, and should we do now?’. The paper defines planning actions take form of small, pragmatic steps and alternative practices that hope to contribute to effective urban governance on specific urban challenges.